Auxiliary text display integrated into a keyboard device

ABSTRACT

A device with an enhanced keyboard is disclosed. One embodiment may take the form of a laptop computer with an auxiliary display embedded within a lower portion of the computer. A further embodiment of the auxiliary display renders contextual information based on information on a main computer display and inputs received from an input device such as a set of keys, mouse, or trackpad.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a nonprovisional patent application of U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/321,272, filed Apr. 12, 2016 and titled “AuxiliaryText Display Integrated Into A Keyboard Device,” the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to devices for computing and,more particularly, to a device with an enhanced keyboard having anauxiliary display.

BACKGROUND

Since the advent of the personal computer, an ever increasing number ofpeople use computers for both professional and home purposes. Users maybe somewhat limited in their productivity while operating a computer,particularly when entering data through a keyboard. However, fewadvances have been made in recent years to improve typing efficiency forusers operating desktop and laptop computers. Therefore, an improvedkeyboard design is needed in order to increase efficiency and improvethe user experience when typing on desktop and laptop computers.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to adevice having a keyboard with an integrated auxiliary display. Oneembodiment may take the form of an electronic computing device having anenclosure with an upper portion and a lower portion pivotally coupled tothe upper portion. The device also includes a processing unit positionedwithin the enclosure, a main display positioned within the upper portionand operably coupled to the processing unit, a set of keys positioned atleast partially within the lower portion, and an auxiliary displaypositioned within the lower portion and operably coupled to theprocessing unit. The processing unit is configured to cause a first setof information to be displayed on the main display and to cause a secondset of information to be displayed on the auxiliary display. The secondset of information comprises a subset of the first set of information.

Another embodiment may take the form of a method for renderingcontextual information on an auxiliary display. The method includes thesteps of rendering primary visual information on a main display,rendering secondary visual information on the auxiliary displaypositioned within a keyboard and operably coupled to the main display,and receiving input from an input device. In response to the input fromthe input device, the method updates the primary visual information andthe secondary visual information to include additional informationassociated with the input.

Still another embodiment may take the form of an electronic computingdevice having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a processing unit.The upper portion has an enclosure and a main display positioned atleast partially within the enclosure. The lower portion includes anupper surface, a set of keys positioned within the upper surface, and anauxiliary display. The processing unit is configured to receive inputsfrom the set of keys. Based on the inputs from the set of keys, theprocessing unit causes primary visual information to be rendered on themain display and causes secondary visual information to be rendered onthe auxiliary display.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description. As will be realized, the embodimentsare capable of modifications in various aspects, all without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Accordingly, the drawingsand detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in natureand not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements.

FIG. 1 depicts a device with an auxiliary display positioned on a lowerportion of the device.

FIG. 2 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of the auxiliary displayalong section A-A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A depicts an example placement of the auxiliary display above aset of keys on the lower portion.

FIG. 3B depicts another example placement of the auxiliary display inthe space bar on the lower portion.

FIG. 3C depicts another example placement of the auxiliary display inthe trackpad on the lower portion.

FIGS. 4A-C depict example functionality of the auxiliary display.

FIG. 5 depicts an example auxiliary display with content that iscoordinated with a main display.

FIGS. 6A-D depict example functionality of the auxiliary display.

FIGS. 7A-C depict example responsive interactions between a user and theauxiliary display.

FIG. 8 depicts an example responsive interaction between a user and theauxiliary display with the context of the main display.

FIG. 9 depicts an example of the auxiliary display mimicking the maindisplay in response to inputs.

FIGS. 10A-C depict example auxiliary display responses to gestureinputs.

FIG. 11 depicts an example system diagram of a device with an auxiliarydisplay.

FIG. 12 depicts an example process of operating an auxiliary display ofa device.

FIG. 13 depicts an example process of suggesting words to a user usingan auxiliary display.

The use of cross-hatching or shading in the accompanying figures isgenerally provided to clarify the boundaries between adjacent elementsand also to facilitate legibility of the figures. Accordingly, neitherthe presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys orindicates any preference or requirement for particular materials,material properties, element proportions, element dimensions,commonalities of similarly illustrated elements, or any othercharacteristic, attribute, or property for any element illustrated inthe accompanying figures.

Additionally, it should be understood that the proportions anddimensions (either relative or absolute) of the various features andelements (and collections and groupings thereof) and the boundaries,separations, and positional relationships presented therebetween, areprovided in the accompanying figures merely to facilitate anunderstanding of the various embodiments described herein and,accordingly, may not necessarily be presented or illustrated to scale,and are not intended to indicate any preference or requirement for anillustrated embodiment to the exclusion of embodiments described withreference thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, they are intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

The following disclosure relates to a device, which may be an electroniccomputing device, having an auxiliary display located within thekeyboard that can be used to enhance user productivity. In a typicalcomputer system, when a user is typing on a keyboard, it is difficultfor the user to maintain visual focus on both the keys being typed andthe main display rendering the typed characters. To view both the keysbeing pressed and the results of the typing presented on the display, auser may be forced to repeatedly shift his or her field of view betweenthe keyboard and the main display or monitor. This continual shiftingmay slow down or interrupt typing activity, which may limit or reducethe user's productivity and/or the efficiency of typing operations.

Embodiments described herein may help improve typing efficiency byallowing the user to focus on the auxiliary display within the keyboardduring typing operations. In some embodiments described herein, theauxiliary display and the main display (e.g., computer monitor) areincorporated within a device having a processing unit that is configuredto coordinate information rendered on both displays. In particular, theprocessing unit may be configured to coordinate information on theauxiliary display, including recent keyboard input and selectedcontextual information, with related information displayed on the maindisplay or monitor, including the recent keyboard input within a richeror more comprehensive user interface. The information presented on theauxiliary display may be sufficiently detailed to allow the user tofocus on typing operations without shifting his or her field of viewaway from the keyboard.

By coordinating content rendered on the auxiliary display with anapplication or user interface content being rendered on the maindisplay, an enhanced user experience and/or typing efficiency may beachieved. For example, during a typing operation, the auxiliary displaymay render a series of characters corresponding to the most recentlytyped keys. The same characters may also be rendered on the main displayin accordance with a word-processing or text editing application. Insome instances, the auxiliary display may also render additional contentto enhance the typing experience including, for example, suggested wordsor phrases to complete a word or sentence being typed. By displayingboth a stream of recently typed characters and suggested words orspelling corrections within the user's field of view, typing speed andtyping accuracy may be improved.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary display may present additionalcontent or context to the user by rendering simplified or extractedportions of a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface) beingsimultaneously rendered on the main display. The simplified or extractedportions may correspond to an area of interest within the user interfaceand/or a portion of an active software application being rendered on themain display. In some cases, the auxiliary display renders a scaledversion of at least a portion of the user interface rendered on the maindisplay, thus mimicking selected information on the main display.Displaying simplified or extracted information on an auxiliary displaymay allow the user to continue typing without having to shift his or herfield of view away from the keyboard.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary display includes a touch sensor thatmay be configured to detect the presence and/or location of an object onthe auxiliary display and to define a touch-sensitive surface. Anauxiliary display having a touch-sensitive surface may further expandthe functionality of the system by allowing users to interact with theinformation on the auxiliary display. For example, the touch-sensitivesurface may allow a user to select a suggested word or phrase renderedon the auxiliary display. This may facilitate rapid execution ofselected actions without diverting attention away from the keyboard,which may further improve the user's typing efficiency and/orproductivity.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary display includes a force sensor thatis configured to detect or measure an amount of force applied to thesurface of the auxiliary display. A force-sensitive auxiliary display(also referred to generally as a touch-sensitive display) may provideadditional user-selection functionality. For example, a user may use alight touch to select a word and an increased or heavier touch to accessanother series of options (e.g., optional actions) associated with theword selection. The additional options might include additionalsuggested words or phrases based on the selected word. The additionaloptions may include one or more actions, such as, replace, delete, cut,or launching a web search or calendar entry.

In embodiments with a touch and/or force sensor, the auxiliary displaymay also include a haptic element. The haptic element may include adevice or mechanism that produces a haptic output or haptic feedback toa user interacting with the auxiliary display. The haptic element mayinclude a motor, actuator, or other mechanism that is configured toproduce a vibration, a tap, or other haptic output. In some cases, thehaptic element may provide a haptic output in response to a userinteracting with the auxiliary display. In one example, the auxiliarydisplay produces a haptic output in response to a user's selection of anitem displayed on the auxiliary display. In some cases, the hapticoutput is coupled or coordinated with an audio output produced using aspeaker or other acoustic element of the device.

Because the auxiliary display is located on the keyboard near the user'shands, the auxiliary display may be adapted to detect when a user'sfinger or other object visually obstructs a portion of the auxiliarydisplay. In response to the detection of an obstruction, the auxiliarydisplay may be configured to adapt the arrangement of the informationdisplayed to reduce or avoid the detected obstruction. This may allowthe auxiliary display to adapt to a particular user's normal handplacement or movement of the user's hands while still presenting usefulinformation to the user as he or she types.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1-13. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given herein with respect to these Figures is forexplanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 depicts an example electronic computing device 100 having anauxiliary display 106. In the example of FIG. 1, the device 100 includesan upper portion 102, a lower portion (e.g., a keyboard) 104, and anauxiliary display 106 on the lower portion 104. The device 100 alsoincludes a main display 108, which is located within the upper portion102. The location of the auxiliary display 106 on the lower portion 104may place it within the field of view of a user while typing, which mayprovide several advantages described above. While FIG. 1 is describedwith respect to a particular portable electronic device (e.g., anotebook computing device), aspects of the device 100 may also apply toa variety of devices including, for example, a computer system,electronic computing device, laptop computing device, desktop computingdevice, and other similar devices.

The device 100 may be configured to coordinate information presentedbetween the main display 108 and the auxiliary display 106. For example,a processing unit (e.g., 1170 in FIG. 11) may be configured to receiveinputs from a set of keys 118 and cause the display of coordinatedvisual information on both the main display 108 and the auxiliarydisplay 106. The device 100 having an auxiliary display 106 may providean enhanced or improved typing experience by providing visualinformation on the auxiliary display 106 that is coordinated with theinformation on the main display 108, which may provide context andfeedback relevant to the user's typing activity. In some cases, theauxiliary display 106 may present a series of recently typed characters,along with typing suggestions and other contextual information withoutrequiring the user to shift focus to the main display 108.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device 100 includes a lower portion 104 having aset of keys 118, which may generally be referred to as a keyboard. Thelower portion 104 or keyboard includes an auxiliary display 106integrated into one or more surfaces of the lower portion 104. In thisparticular example, the auxiliary display 106 is positioned along anupper surface 116 of the lower portion 104. Other example placements ofthe auxiliary display 106 are provided in FIGS. 3A-C, discussed in moredetail below.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the auxiliary display 106 may presentsecondary visual information 122 (e.g., a set of information) that iscoordinated with or related to the primary visual information 112rendered on the main display 108. The secondary visual information 122may include contextual information to assist a user while typing.Contextual information may be information which may be helpful orrelevant to a user while typing or otherwise engaging in operations inwhich the field of view of the user is focused on the lower portion 104.The contextual information, including a series or set of recently typedcharacters or words, may help a user confirm the accuracy of typingwithout having to shift his or her focus from the lower portion 104.

The secondary visual information 122 on the auxiliary display 106 may bederived from or representative of primary visual information 112 on themain display 108. For example, the main display 108 may render a firstset of information included in the primary visual information 112 thatincludes both graphical elements (e.g., a window with a border having abackground color) and text elements (e.g., the text “The quick brown foxjumped over the lazy dog. Hello World.”). The auxiliary display 106 mayinclude secondary visual information 122 that includes a second set ofinformation that is a subset of the first set of information.Specifically, the second set of information may include the text element“Hello World,” which is a subset of the text elements of the first setof information “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. HelloWorld.” displayed on the main display 108. The second set of informationmay also include one or more graphical elements of the first set ofinformation including, for example, a portion of the window, border,color, or other graphical aspect of the primary visual information 112.

In some cases, the secondary visual information 122 includes a set ofgraphical and/or textual information that is a visually scaled orsimplified version of the primary visual information 112. For example,the secondary visual information 122 may include similar graphicaland/or textual elements of the primary visual information 112, but at areduced scale and/or a reduced detail. Additionally or alternatively,the secondary visual information 122 may include a series of charactersrepresenting inputs recently received from the set of keys 118.Additional examples of the coordination between primary visualinformation (having a first set of information) and secondary visualinformation (having a second set of information) are described in moredetail below with respect to FIGS. 5 and 8-10C.

The auxiliary display 106 may be implemented using a variety ofelectronic display technologies. The auxiliary display 106 may include,for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light-emittingdiode (OLED) display, organic electroluminescence (OEL) display, oranother electronic display element. The auxiliary display 106 mayfurther include a cover sheet configured to protect the display elementfrom physical damage. The auxiliary display 106 is electrically and/oroperably coupled to other components of the device 100 including aprocessing unit, as described in more detail below with respect to FIG.11.

In order to further enhance user interactions with the auxiliary display106, the auxiliary display 106 may further define or incorporate atouch-sensitive surface. The touch-sensitive surface may include one ormore touch sensors (shown in FIGS. 2 and 11) that are configured todetect the presence and location of a touch on the surface of theauxiliary display 106. The touch sensitive surface may, for example,allow a user to select one of several options presented in the secondaryvisual information 122 by touching a corresponding portion of thesurface of the auxiliary display 106. Example functionality is providedbelow with respect to FIGS. 7A-C.

The auxiliary display 106 may further define or incorporate aforce-sensitive surface, using one or more force sensors (shown in FIGS.2 and 11) to detect and/or measure an amount of force applied to thesurface of the auxiliary display 106. The force-sensitive surface mayallow the device 100 to present and/or execute additional actions usingthe auxiliary display 106. Other sensors may also be included in theauxiliary display 106 including, for example, an infrared sensor,ultrasonic sensor, or acoustic sensor.

The auxiliary display 106 may further define or incorporate a hapticfeedback surface, using one or more haptic elements (shown in FIG. 11)to provide haptic feedback to a user. In some cases, the auxiliarydisplay may produce a haptic output in response to a detected touch orforce applied to the surface of the auxiliary display 106, or it may beinitiated without touch or force inputs. The haptic feedback surface mayprovide tactile response to a user typing or interacting with theauxiliary display in addition to the visual response of the auxiliarydisplay 106.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion 104 includes an enclosure 114having an upper surface 116. The enclosure 114 may be configured toenclose and protect various electronic components and subsystemspositioned within the lower portion 104. In particular, the enclosure114 may at least partially enclose and protect the auxiliary display 106and the set of keys 118. The enclosure 114 may be formed from a varietyof material including, for example, a molded plastic, steel, aluminum,glass, acrylic, composite, carbon fiber, or the like. The enclosure 114may also include a textile, synthetic leather cover, or other similarmaterial. The enclosure 114 may be formed from multiple componentsand/or formed from a combination of multiple, different materials. Oneor more ports may be positioned within the enclosure 114, whether on theupper surface 116 or elsewhere within the enclosure 114. Example portsmay be configured to electrically connect the device 100 with anotherexternal device and may conform to a specific standard including a USB,VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, microphone, speaker, mouse, Ethernet, memorycard reader, or other type of electronic coupling. The enclosure 114 mayalso include one or more power ports positioned along an externalsurface of the enclosure 114 and configured to receive electrical powerfrom an external power source, such as a wall outlet or power supply.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device 100 includes a set of keys 118 positionedalong the upper surface 116 of the lower portion 104. The set of keys118 may include electro-mechanical or electronic actuators that areconfigured to produce an output in response to touch or press input froma user. The output from the set of keys 118 may represent, at least inpart, alphanumeric characters, which may be communicated to theprocessing unit or other aspects of the device 100. A subset of the setof keys 118 may enable the performance of various functions performed bythe device 100. Each key of the set of keys 118 may have one or moreunique symbols indicating a function and/or a character that itrepresents. The symbols may be painted, printed, molded, etched, orotherwise visibly placed on the surface of the keys 118. The set of keys118 may be positioned within separate openings within the upper surface116 of the lower portion 104 as shown in FIG. 1, or one or more of thekeys 118 may be positioned within an opening within the upper surface116.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device 100 may include a touch-sensitive region,which may include a trackpad 120 positioned along the upper surface 116of the lower portion 104. The trackpad 120 may be positioned below theset of keys 118 and generally aligned with a centerline of the lowerportion 104. The trackpad 120 may include a surface having a textureand/or color that is similar to the upper surface 116. The trackpad 120may include one or more touch sensors that are configured to detect thelocation of a finger or other object touching the surface of thetrackpad 120. The trackpad 120 may further comprise one or more forcesensors which can detect and measure an amount of force applied to thetrackpad 120. The touch and force sensors may be electrically coupled tothe processing unit, and may be configured to input information to theprocessing unit.

The example of FIG. 1 depicts the auxiliary display 106 positioned abovethe set of keys 118 in the lower portion 104. However, the position ofthe auxiliary display 106 is not limited to this location. The auxiliarydisplay 106 may also be positioned elsewhere within the lower portion104, including to the side or below the set of keys 118, between the setof keys 118, on the surface of one or more keys of the set of keys 118,or on the surface of the trackpad 120. Various example placements of anauxiliary display are provided in FIGS. 3A-C, described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion 104 is pivotally coupled to theupper portion 102 of the device 100. The lower portion 104 and upperportion 102 may be pivotally coupled in such a way as to allow the twoportions to rotate between a range of positions relative to each other.The positions may include an open position that is adapted for typingand otherwise operating the device 100, and a closed position that isadapted to protect the auxiliary display 106, main display 108, andother components during storage and/or transportation. The lower portion104 and upper portion 102 may be pivotally coupled, for example, by amechanical hinge 103 or other type of pivot. Alternatively, the upperportion 102 and lower portion 104 may be non-pivotally coupled and/orthey may be separably coupled.

The upper portion 102 includes an enclosure 110. The enclosure 110 maybe configured to at least partially enclose and protect the main display108 and other components of the device 100. The enclosure 110 may beformed from a variety of materials including, for example, moldedplastic, steel, aluminum, glass, acrylic, composite, carbon fiber, orthe like. The enclosure 110 may alternatively or additionally compriseor cover a rigid frame or structural core formed from a rigid material.A camera, a light, or other device may be positioned within theenclosure 110 and electrically coupled to other components of the device100 (e.g., a processing unit).

A main display 108 is positioned at least partially within the enclosure110 of the upper portion 102. The main display 108 may be configured torender primary visual information 112 consistent with the embodimentsdescribed herein. The main display 108 may be implemented with anysuitable technology, including but not limited to liquid crystal display(LCD) technology, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology,organic electroluminescence (OEL) technology, or similar displaytechnology. The main display 108 may be electrically and/or operativelycoupled to other components of the device 100, including the processingunit.

The upper portion 102 may further comprise one or more sensors. Thesesensors may include one or more infrared sensors, as well as one or moresensors which can detect the presence and position of a touch and/or theforce of a touch on the main display 108. The device 100 may alsoinclude one or more sensors that are configured to detect one or moreaspects of user activity including, for example, optical sensors fordetecting the position or movement of a user's eyes and/or the presenceof a user's face.

As described above, the auxiliary display 106 may include one or moresensors that are configured to detect the location of an object and/oran applied force on a touch-sensitive surface formed over the auxiliarydisplay 106. FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of the device 100 ofFIG. 1 viewed along section A-A and illustrates the various componentsthat may be used to form a touch-sensitive auxiliary display 106. Manyinternal components, such as a processing unit, computer memory,battery, and other components of the device 100 are omitted from FIG. 2for clarity. FIG. 11, described below, provides another non-limitingexample of internal components of a device which may be included in thedevice 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary display 106 includes a cover sheet 201that forms at least a portion of the external or exterior surface of theauxiliary display 106. The cover sheet 201 may be attached directly tothe enclosure 114 or may be attached via a gasket, seal, or othercoupling component. As discussed above, the cover sheet 201 (or cover)may be formed from a sheet of translucent or transparent material (e.g.,polyethylene terephthalate (PET), amorphous glass, or crystallineceramic, such as sapphire or zirconia).

In the example of FIG. 2, a touch sensor 203 is positioned below thecover sheet 201. The touch sensor 203 may include an array of capacitiveelectrodes that is configured to detect the location of a touch on thetouch-sensitive surface 205 of the auxiliary display 106. The touchsensor 203 may operate in accordance with a mutually-capacitive,self-capacitive, or other type of capacitive sensing scheme. In someembodiments, the touch sensor 203 may include a resistive, inductive,ultrasonic, or other type of sensor configured to detect the presenceand location of a touch on the touch-sensitive surface 205.

As shown in FIG. 2, a force sensor 207 is also positioned below thecover sheet 201. While in this example the force sensor 207 is depictedas being disposed below the touch sensor 203, the order and position ofthe layers may vary depending on the implementation. The touch sensor203 and/or force sensor 207 may in some embodiments be positioned belowthe display element 209. The force sensor 207 may operate in accordancewith various force-sensing schemes or configurations. For purposes ofillustration, the force sensor 207 is depicted as a single layer withinthe display stack. However, the force sensor 207 may include multiplelayers positioned in various locations within the display stack.Additionally or alternatively, the force sensor 207 may be formed aroundthe periphery or around a region of the display element 209. The forcesensor 207 may also be integrally formed with a seal or gasket that ispositioned between the cover sheet 201 and the enclosure 114.

In one embodiment, the force sensor 207 is formed from one or morestrain-sensitive layers that are configured to produce an electricaloutput or exhibit a change in an electrical property in accordance withan amount of strain or deflection of the cover sheet 201. For example,the force sensor 207 may include a piezo-electric or piezo-resistivematerial that produces a charge or exhibits a change in resistance inresponse to a deflection of the cover sheet 201. The amount of force ofa touch on the touch-sensitive surface 205 may correspond to the amountof deflection of the cover sheet 201 and/or the force sensor 207.

In another embodiment, the force sensor 207 may include a capacitivesensor that includes a pair of capacitive electrodes positioned onopposite sides of a compressible layer or air gap. An amount of forcemay be detected by measuring deflection of the compressible layer or airgap using a change in capacitance between the pair of capacitiveelectrodes. The capacitive sensor may be positioned within a singlelayer, as depicted in FIG. 2. Additionally or alternatively, acapacitive force sensor 207 may be positioned along one or more edges ofthe display element 209 or may be located between the cover sheet 201and the enclosure 114.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display element 209 is also positioned below thecover sheet 201 and may be at least partially positioned within theopening defined by the enclosure 114. As discussed above, the displayelement 209 may include any one of a variety of display elementsincluding, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, organic electroluminescent (OEL) display,and so on. While depicted as separate and distinct components in theexample of FIG. 2, in some embodiments, one or more of the force sensor207 and/or the touch sensor 203 may be integrally formed with thedisplay element 209.

The force sensor 207 may be configured to generate an electrical outputthat may be used to initiate a force-event signal or press-event signal.The force- or press-event signal may be interpreted as user input (orforce touch) to interact with the secondary information rendered on theauxiliary display 106 and control various aspects of the device 100. Theoutput from the force sensor 207 may be used alone or in conjunctionwith the output of the touch sensor 203 to interpret a wide variety ofuser input on the touch-sensitive surface 205.

Turning to implementations of the auxiliary display 306 a, 306 b, 306 c,FIGS. 3A-C illustrate example locations for the auxiliary display 306 a,306 b, 306 c within the upper surface 316 of the lower portion 304 a,304 b, 304 c. The auxiliary display 306 a, 306 b, 306 c is positionedalong the upper surface 316 of the lower portion 304 a, 304 b, 304 csuch that it may be within the same field of view as the set of keys 318while a user is typing. FIGS. 3A-C show example locations above the setof keys 318, along one or more keys of the set of keys 318, and alongthe trackpad 320, respectively. While these are provided as specificillustrated examples, there are many other locations, such as betweenthe set of keys 318, to the side of the set of keys 318, or anywherewithin the lower portion 304 a, 304 b, 304 c which would also be withinthe present disclosure. These examples are intended to illustratepotential locations, rather than limit the auxiliary display 306 a, 306b, 306 c to the embodiments in FIGS. 3A-C.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example location of the auxiliary display 306 awithin the lower portion 304 a. In this example, a set of keys 318 ispositioned along the upper surface 316 of the lower portion 304 a. Theauxiliary display 306 a is positioned along a peripheral region of thelower portion 304 a adjacent to a top row of the set of keys 318. Withthe auxiliary display 306 a in this location it is in close proximity tothe set of keys 318, and may allow for a wide viewing pane to render alarge amount of secondary visual information.

In the example of FIG. 3B, the auxiliary display 306 b is located evencloser to the set of keys 318 by being positioned along the surface of aspace bar 324. The auxiliary display 306 b could alternatively be placedon another of the set of keys 318, or even on multiple keys of the setof keys 318. As a result, the auxiliary display 306 b is not only morecentral to a hypothetical field of view of a user while typing, but mayalso allow for a more compact lower portion 304 b.

FIG. 3C illustrates another example location of the auxiliary display306 c within the lower portion 304 c. The auxiliary display 306 c ispositioned along the surface of a trackpad 320. By integrating theauxiliary display 306 c with the surface of the trackpad 320, atouch-sensitive auxiliary display 306 c may reduce the quantity of touchor force sensors in the device by using one set of touch or forcesensors for both the trackpad 320 and the auxiliary display 306 c.Placing the auxiliary display 306 c along the surface of the trackpad320 may also allow for a taller viewing pane as compared to otherembodiments.

FIGS. 4A-C demonstrate several examples of secondary visual information422 which may be rendered by the auxiliary display 406. As discussedabove with respect to FIG. 1, the secondary visual information 422 mayinclude a set of information that may be coordinated with or relate toinformation displayed on a main or primary display. The secondary visualinformation 422 rendered by the auxiliary display 406 may be formulatedto assist a user while typing. While the following examples are providedwith respect to a specific illustrative location of the auxiliarydisplay 406, other locations of the auxiliary display 406 may alsoprovide the functionality described with respect to FIGS. 4A-C.

With respect to FIGS. 4A-C, the secondary visual information 422 mayinclude a set of characters 426 representing or corresponding to thekeys 418 most recently typed. The secondary visual information 422 maythen further include additional text and/or graphical representationsrelevant to the typing operations, including a set of suggested words430.

In response to a user's typing input, the device may recognize that aseries of characters forms the beginning of a word. In response toidentifying a potential word, the auxiliary display 406 may render oneor more suggestions 430 representing completed words that may correspondto the user input. The suggested words 430 may include suggested wordsbased on: commonly used words beginning with the recently typedcharacters 426; words which may be recognized as a correct spelling of aword being typed; words based on a user's typing history; and the like.Words may not necessarily be recognized dictionary words, but may be anycollection of alphanumeric characters which may be logically groupedtogether.

FIG. 4A illustrates these features of the auxiliary display 406. In FIG.4A, an auxiliary display 406 is positioned along the surface of atrackpad 420. The auxiliary display 406 is shown rendering secondaryvisual information 422 caused to be displayed by the processing unit.The secondary visual information 422 includes a set of information,specifically, a series of characters 426 representing the most recentlytyped keys 418; a cursor 428 indicating the location of a similar cursoron the main display; and suggested words 430. The location of the cursor428 may be coordinated with the location of a cursor displayed on themain display and may follow the most recently typed character.

The one or more suggested words 430 may be rendered on any portion ofthe auxiliary display 406. In some embodiments, one or more of thesuggested words 430 may replace all or some of the recently typedcharacters 426. As mentioned above, the device may generate thesuggested words 430 based on a variety of factors. In one case, thesuggested words 430 are based on a stored set of commonly used wordswhich correspond to or partially match the typed characters.Additionally, the suggested words 430 may be based on the typing historyof a user. As another example, the suggested words 430 may be based oncommon spelling mistakes. Additional interactions with auto-suggestionsand auto-completions are further illustrated in FIGS. 7A-C, discussedbelow.

Turning to FIG. 4B, the secondary visual information 422 rendered on theauxiliary display 406 may further comprise contextual information orsuggestions based on inputs to the keys 418 or trackpad 420. FIG. 4Billustrates an auxiliary display 406 positioned along the surface of thetrackpad 420. The example illustrates how a user typing a specialcharacter or keys can cause the auxiliary display 406 to displaycommands associated with specific operations. In the example of FIG. 4B,a user 434 may press the “control” key 436, causing the secondary visualinformation 422 to be rendered including information in the form of aseries of additional key presses 438 and actions which may be performed440. In this example, the secondary visual information 422 comprises alist of suggested additional key presses 438 and the correspondingactions 440 that pressing each key would perform.

In general, the secondary visual information 422 includes a set ofinformation that represents a series of options or suggested actions.More specifically, the set of information includes: a first option 442indicating that if the user presses the “control” and the “c” key, aselected item will be copied; a second option 444 indicating that if theuser presses the “control” and the “v” key, a selected item will bepasted; and a third option indicating that if the user presses the“control” and the “x” key, a selected item will be cut. This feature isnot limited to this example, and other inputs may result in additionalhotkeys, options, suggestions, or other secondary visual information 422being rendered on the auxiliary display 406.

Referencing FIG. 4C, the auxiliary display 406 may render secondaryvisual information 422 which includes a set of information that may be asubset of the primary visual information rendered on the main display.As an example, the primary visual information may include text and agraphical interface, such as a software application window, and thesecondary visual information 422 may include a portion of the text inthe primary visual information. This may allow a user editing adocument, for example, to see the text of a portion of the softwarewindow on the main display without the need to view the main display.

In the example of FIG. 4C, the secondary visual information 422 renderedon the auxiliary display 406, positioned in the trackpad 420, comprisesan area of the primary visual information rendered on the main display.As shown in FIG. 4C, a user may be editing a document on the maindisplay, and the secondary visual information 422 may includeinformation that corresponds to an area around the cursor 428, as it isrendered the main display. As the device receives input from an inputdevice such as the set of keys 418, the trackpad 420, or a sensor in theauxiliary display, the primary visual information and secondary visualinformation may be updated to include additional information, such ascharacters representing key inputs and/or an updated position of thecursor 428. The secondary visual information may then include anychanges or additions in real time as they would appear on the maindisplay, allowing a user to see the text around any edits on theauxiliary display 406.

The concept illustrated in FIG. 4C may be extended to applications inwhich the auxiliary display 406 renders a portion of the primary displaywhich corresponds to an area of interest. The area of interest may bedetermined by the processing unit. The area of interest may bedetermined, for example, through a location of a cursor within anapplication, through the location of a mouse pointer, through other userinputs, or using other similar techniques. In one implementation, thedevice may include visual tracking sensors which are configured to tracka user's eye movement, and the detected eye movement may be used todetermine and/or define the area of interest.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the secondary visual information 522 renderedon the auxiliary display 506 may include a subset of the primary visualinformation 512 rendered on the main display 508. The secondary visualinformation 522 may further include information that is generated orrendered in response to inputs received from additional input devices,such as a mouse or trackpad. This may include rendering textual orgraphical elements near an area of interest indicated by a cursor 528, amouse pointer, or similar indication, and it may additionally includeinformation relevant to an active software application.

Similar to the previous examples, in FIG. 5 a device 500 includes anupper portion 502 and a lower portion 504. The upper portion 502 has anenclosure 510 with a main display 508 positioned within the enclosure510. The lower portion 504 includes a set of keys 518 and an auxiliarydisplay 506 positioned along a trackpad 520. These components correspondto similar components described above with respect to FIGS. 1-2, aredundant description of which is omitted for clarity.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main display 508 is shown rendering primaryvisual information 512, which includes a first set of information. Thefirst set of information includes a graphical representation of asoftware application, which may be a document editor application. Thedocument editor application may contain graphical and textual elements,including the name of the application 521 and the active page number525. The primary visual information 512 may include a set of characters526 corresponding to the most recently typed keys 518 and a cursor 528following the most recently typed character.

The auxiliary display 506 is shown rendering secondary visualinformation 522, which includes a second set of information. The secondset of information includes a subset of the first set of information,including a portion of the set of characters 526 and a cursor 528corresponding to those rendered on the main display 508. The second setof information also includes the name of the application 521 and theactive page number 525. The second set of information may furtherinclude additional information from the software application notrendered on the main display 508, such as the current chapter 523.

As also illustrated in FIG. 5, an area of interest 531 may be defined tocorrespond to a region or area within the main display 508. The primaryvisual information 512 rendered on the main display 508 may include afirst set of information and the area of interest 531 may correspond toa subset of the first set of information that falls within the regiondefined by the area of interest 535. The processing unit may determinethe area of interest as the area surrounding a cursor 528, the areasurrounding a mouse pointer, by inputs received from another inputdevice such as a sensor, through software application control, orsimilar means.

Once the area of interest is determined, the auxiliary display 506 mayrender text and/or graphical elements that correspond to the subset ofthe first set of information that falls within the area of interest. Inthis example, the auxiliary display 506 renders secondary visualinformation 522 (e.g., a second set of information) that includes thesubset of the first set of information that corresponds to the area ofinterest 531. More specifically, the auxiliary display 506 renders aportion of the text 526 that falls within the region of the area ofinterest 531 (e.g., the text “over the la”.)

Referencing FIGS. 6A-D, the auxiliary display 606 a-b may be configuredto respond to the detection of a touch or a visual obstruction (e.g., afinger 634) on a portion of the auxiliary display 606 a-b. For example,if the auxiliary display 606 a includes a touch sensor (see e.g., FIG.2), the touch sensor may be configured to detect an obstruction on aportion of the auxiliary display 606 a. As illustrated in FIGS. 6A and6B, in response to the detection of an obstruction, the secondary visualinformation 622 on the auxiliary display 606 a may be rendered in a newlocation away from the detected obstruction. In some cases, the newlocation allows all of the rendered secondary visual information 622 toremain visible despite the presence of the obstruction (e.g., finger634). This same functionality can be extended in the case of anauxiliary display 606 b which may include a different sensor or othermethod of detecting an obstruction, as in FIGS. 6C and 6D.

For example, FIG. 6A illustrates an auxiliary display 606 a positionedalong the surface of a trackpad 620 below a set of keys 618. Theauxiliary display 606 a includes a touch sensor as shown in FIG. 2. Thetouch sensor in the auxiliary display 606 a detects the presence of anobstruction, such as a user's finger 634, on the left side of theauxiliary display 606 a. The processing unit receives input from thetouch sensors and causes the secondary visual information 622 to berendered on the right side of the auxiliary display 606 a away from thefinger 634. FIG. 6B demonstrates the same embodiment as FIG. 6A, withthe finger 634 now on the right side of the auxiliary display 606 a,causing the secondary visual information 622 to be rendered on the left.

In FIGS. 6C and 6D, the auxiliary display 606 b is located on thesurface of the space bar 624. The auxiliary display 606 b may compriseone or more touch sensors, as in the examples of FIGS. 6A and 6B. Wheretouch sensitivity is not desired, the auxiliary display 606 b maysimilarly comprise one or more infrared or other sensors which candetect the presence of an obstruction such as a finger 634.Alternatively, the user may input the presence of an obstruction to thedevice, or the device may be configured to store or identify apreference of where the user typically rests a finger 634.

In some embodiments, the processing unit (e.g., processing unit 1170 ofFIG. 11) is configured to respond to the presence of an obstruction suchas a user's finger 634 over a portion of the auxiliary display 606 b.The presence of the obstruction may be detected using one or more of thesensing techniques described above. The processing unit then renders thesecondary visual information 622 away from the obstruction (e.g., finger634). It should be understood that this feature is not limited toembodiments where the auxiliary display 606 is positioned within the setof keys 618 or the trackpad 620, but can also be extended to anauxiliary display 606 in other locations or configurations.

As described above, the auxiliary display may define a touch-sensitivesurface that enables a user to interact with the rendered secondaryvisual information. Examples of this functionality are illustrated inFIGS. 7A-C. In the example of FIG. 7A, the auxiliary display 706 aincludes a touch sensor, similar to the touch sensor described abovewith respect to FIG. 2. In response to the touch sensor detecting(touch) input from the user, primary visual information may be renderedon the main display and the secondary visual information 722 may berendered on the auxiliary display 706 a.

In some cases, the primary and secondary visual information may beupdated to include a graphical representation corresponding to thelocation of the touch on the surface of the auxiliary display 706 a. Forexample, FIG. 7A depicts an auxiliary display 706 a that combines thetouch sensor of FIG. 2 with the auto-suggest feature illustrated in FIG.4A. By providing a touch-sensitive surface, the auxiliary display 706 amay allow for a user to quickly select one of the suggested words andhave that word inserted into both the primary visual information on themain display and the secondary visual information 722 on the auxiliarydisplay 706 a.

In FIG. 7A, the auxiliary display 706 a (positioned within the trackpad720) renders secondary visual information 722, which is comprised of aset of characters 726 representing recent inputs from the set of keys718. A cursor 728 follows the most recently typed characters 726,indicating the location where a next character would appear. Here, thecursor 728 follows a partially typed word. In some instances, aprocessing unit recognizes that the cursor 728 follows a partial word,and causes the auxiliary display 706 a to render one or more suggestedwords 730 which may complete the partial word. The user 734 may select adesired word 748 by touching a portion of the auxiliary display 706 awhich corresponds to the desired word 748. The touch sensor in theauxiliary display 706 a may detect the user touch 734; the processingunit may acknowledge the selection and may insert the desired word 748into the text.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7B, the user 734 may select a desiredword 748 by touching a particular key 750 or another means. In FIG. 7B,an auxiliary display 706 b is positioned on the surface of a space bar724. The auxiliary display 706 b renders secondary visual information722, comprised of a set of characters 726, a cursor 728 following themost recently typed characters, and one or more suggested words 730. Theuser 734 may select a desired word 748 by pressing a particular key 750.The processing unit recognizes the pressing of the particular key 750 asthe selection of the desired word 748 and represents the selection byinserting the desired word 748 into the primary visual information andsecondary visual information 722.

Referencing FIG. 7C, the auxiliary display 706 c may include a forcesensor, similar to the force sensor described above with respect to FIG.2. When the force sensor detects or estimates that an amount of forceexceeding a threshold is applied to the surface of the auxiliary display706 c, the auxiliary display 706 c may render secondary visualinformation 722 including one or more user-selectable items. Theuser-selectable items may include, for example, additional wordsuggestions, or items indicating a variety of other options and actionswhich may be executed, such as searching the web, looking up a word in adictionary or thesaurus, or otherwise interacting with the auxiliarydisplay 706 c and device resources. An item may then be selected, forexample by touching a portion of the auxiliary display 706 ccorresponding to the desired selectable item.

By way of example, FIG. 7C depicts an auxiliary display 706 c positionedalong the surface of a trackpad 720 below a set of keys 718. Theauxiliary display 706 c may include both a touch sensor and a forcesensor as described above with respect to FIG. 2. The auxiliary display706 c may render secondary visual information 722, which includes a setof characters 726 representing recent inputs from the set of keys 718. Acursor 728 may follow the most recently typed characters 726. Theprocessing unit may recognize that the cursor 728 follows a partialword, and cause one or more suggested words 730 to be rendered, whichmay complete the partial word. In response to an applied force, theauxiliary display 706 c may render further selectable items based on orcorresponding to the selected word 748. In particular, in response to atouch having a force that exceeds a threshold, the secondary visualinformation 722 may be updated to include a dialog box 754 withadditional suggestions; here, other forms of the selected word 748.

In embodiments that include a haptic element (shown in FIG. 11), theauxiliary display 706 a may also be configured to provide hapticfeedback to a user. Returning to the example of FIG. 7A, when a user 734selects a desired word 748, the auxiliary display 706 a may providehaptic feedback, such as a clicking or tapping tactile sensation, at thesurface of the auxiliary display 706 a. In some cases, the haptic outputis coupled or coordinated with an audio output that provides audiofeedback for the user interaction with the auxiliary display 706 a.Returning to the example of FIG. 7C, haptic feedback may be furtheraffected by an applied force. For example, in response to a touch havinga force that exceeds a threshold, the clicking, tapping, or othertactile sensation may be increased in magnitude or frequency.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10A-10C depict other example functionality of anauxiliary display. FIG. 8 illustrates a device 800 with a main display808 and a lower portion 804 or keyboard which includes a set of keys 818and an auxiliary display 806. The main display 808 renders primaryvisual information 812, which includes a first set of information,including a software application window, a set of characters 826, and acursor 828.

The auxiliary display 806 renders secondary visual information 822,which includes a second set of information which includes a subset ofthe first set of information from the primary visual information 812,including the set of characters 826 and the cursor 828. The auxiliarydisplay 806 also includes a touch sensor and a force sensor asillustrated in FIG. 2. The secondary visual information 822 rendered onthe auxiliary display 806 further comprises one or more suggested words830 which may complete a partial word.

Detected input from the touch of a user 834 may cause the secondaryvisual information 822 to include further selectable items by executinga force touch 852 on a portion of the auxiliary display 806. The one ormore force sensors in the auxiliary display 806 detect the force touch852 and the processing unit causes the secondary visual information 822to include a dialog box 854 with additional suggestions. As depicted inFIG. 8, some of the features of the auxiliary display 820 may berendered only on the auxiliary display 820 and not on the main display808. For example, where the auxiliary display 820 renders secondaryvisual information 822 including suggested words 830 based on recent keyinputs, the primary visual information may or may not render thesuggested words 830.

In FIG. 9, the device 900 comprises an upper portion 902 having a maindisplay 908 configured to render primary visual information 912 and alower portion 904 having an auxiliary display 906 configured to rendersecondary visual information 922. The auxiliary display 906 ispositioned along a trackpad 920 below a set of keys 918. The processingunit may be configured to recognize a gesture made on the surface of theauxiliary display 906 and may be configured to cause the auxiliarydisplay 906 to render secondary visual information 922 which comprises avisually scaled version 956 of the primary visual information 912.

In the example of FIG. 9, the secondary visual information 922 renderedon the auxiliary display 906 may include a subset of the primary visualinformation 912 rendered on the main display 908. The primary visualinformation 912 may include a rich graphical representation, such as anoperating system desktop with application windows, while the secondaryvisual information may include a visually scaled version of the primaryvisual information. The auxiliary display 906 may render a lowerresolution version of the rich graphical representation on the maindisplay 912, or it may be a smaller version at a similar resolution. Orthe auxiliary display 906 may render a simplified version of the richercontent on the main display 912.

The auxiliary display 906 may be configured to render a visually scaledversion of the main display 908 in response to a gesture on the trackpad920 or touch-sensitive auxiliary display 906, a keystroke combination,or another input. This allows the user to perform actions which moreglobally affect items rendered on the main display 908 while maintainingvisual focus on the lower portion 904. By way of example, as shown inFIG. 9, the primary visual information 912 includes a representation ofmultiple desktops 958, and the secondary visual information 922 includesa visually scaled version 956 of the representation of multiple desktops958. As the user slides a finger 934 along the surface of the auxiliarydisplay 906 (example gesture), both the primary visual information 912and secondary visual information 922 show a graphical representation ofthe device switching between the multiple desktops 958. In embodimentsthat include a haptic element, a haptic output and/or an audio outputmay be produced in response to a user interaction with the auxiliarydisplay. For example, a tactile feedback sensation including, forexample, a rumble or vibration, may be provided to the user whilesliding a finger 934 along the surface of the auxiliary display 906.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10A-C, other gestures may cause the auxiliarydisplay 1006 to render a visually scaled version of the main display1008 or a portion of the rich graphical representation on the maindisplay 1008, and cause the secondary visual information 1022 on theauxiliary display 1006 to mimic the primary visual information 1012 onthe main display 1008.

For example, where the auxiliary display 1006 renders a visually scaledversion of the main display 1008, performing a pinching gesture 1060 cancause the auxiliary display 1006 to be zoomed in and out on a portion ofthe main display 1008. In addition, where the auxiliary display 1006renders a set of characters during typing, the same pinching gesture1060 can cause the number of characters rendered to increase ordecrease, or to grow or shrink in size.

This feature is demonstrated in FIG. 10A, showing a main display 1008rendering primary visual information 1012 and an auxiliary display 1006located on the surface of a trackpad 1020 rendering secondary visualinformation 1022. The primary visual information 1012 may include agraphical representation of an application window, and the secondaryvisual information 1022 may include a simplified or visually scaledversion of the primary visual information 1012. The auxiliary display1006 includes a touch sensor as illustrated in FIG. 2. When a user 1034performs a pinching gesture 1060 on the touch-sensitive surface of theauxiliary display 1006, the processing unit causes the secondary visualinformation 1022 to represent a zoomed portion 1062 of the primaryvisual information 1012 without affecting the primary visual information1012.

FIG. 10B illustrates that the features of FIG. 10A may be included inother layout configurations. In particular, FIG. 10B illustrates a maindisplay 1008 rendering primary visual information 1012 and an auxiliarydisplay 1006 located on the lower portion adjacent the set of keys 1018.The primary visual information 1012 may include a graphicalrepresentation of an application window, and the secondary visualinformation 1022 may include a simplified or visually scaled version ofthe primary visual information 1012. The auxiliary display 1006 includesa touch sensor as illustrated in FIG. 2. When a user 1034 performs apinching gesture 1060 on the touch-sensitive surface of the auxiliarydisplay 1006, the processing unit causes the secondary visualinformation 1022 to represent a zoomed portion 1062 of the primaryvisual information 1012 without affecting the primary visual information1012.

Gestures performed on a touch-sensitive auxiliary display 1006 mayalternatively affect both the primary visual information 1012 on themain display 1008 and the secondary visual information 1022 on theauxiliary display 1006, as illustrated in FIG. 10C. FIG. 10C illustratesa main display 1008 rendering primary visual information 1012 and anauxiliary display 1006 located on the surface of a trackpad 1020rendering secondary visual information 1022. The auxiliary displayincludes a touch sensor as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The primary visual information 1012 consists of a desktop 1064 with aplurality of icons 1066, and the secondary visual information 1022consists of a visually scaled version 1056 of the primary visualinformation 1012. A user's finger 1034 touches and holds a portion ofthe auxiliary display 1006 corresponding to an icon 1066. The finger1034 then slides along the touch-sensitive surface of the auxiliarydisplay 1006. The processing unit causes the icon 1066 represented inboth the primary visual information 1012 and the secondary visualinformation 1022 to move along with the finger 1034. These types ofmirrored actions can occur under a variety of other gestures and inputsas well.

FIG. 11 depicts example components of an electronic computing device inaccordance with the embodiments described herein. The schematicrepresentation depicted in FIG. 11 may correspond to components of thedevices depicted in FIGS. 1-10C, described above. However, FIG. 11 mayalso more generally represent other types of devices that include anauxiliary display configured to render secondary visual information inaccordance with the embodiments described herein.

As shown in FIG. 11, a device 1100 includes a processing unit 1170operatively connected to computer memory 1172 and computer-readablemedia 1174. The processing unit 1170 may be operatively connected to thememory 1172 and computer-readable media 1174 components via anelectronic bus or bridge. The processing unit 1170 may include one ormore computer processors or microcontrollers that are configured toperform operations in response to computer-readable instructions. Theprocessing unit 1170 may include the central processing unit (CPU) ofthe device 1100. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 1170may include other processors within the device 1100 includingapplication specific integrated chips (ASIC) and other microcontrollerdevices. The processing unit 1170 may be configured to performfunctionality described in the examples above.

The memory 1172 may include a variety of types of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media, including, for example, read accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable memory(e.g., EPROM and EEPROM), or flash memory. The memory 1172 is configuredto store computer-readable instructions, sensor values, and otherpersistent software elements. Computer-readable media 1174 also includesa variety of types of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediaincluding, for example, a hard-drive storage device, a solid statestorage device, a portable magnetic storage device, or other similardevice. The computer-readable media 1174 may also be configured to storecomputer-readable instructions, sensor values, and other persistentsoftware elements.

In this example, the processing unit 1170 is operable to readcomputer-readable instructions stored on the memory 1172 and/orcomputer-readable media 1174. The computer-readable instructions mayadapt the processing unit 1170 to perform the operations or functionsdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1-10C and below with respect toFIGS. 12 and 13. In particular, the processing unit 1170, the memory1172, and/or the computer-readable media 1174 may be configured to causeprimary visual information to be rendered on a main display 1108 andsecondary visual information to be rendered on an auxiliary display 1106of the device 1100. The computer-readable instructions may be providedas a computer-program product, software application, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 11, the device 1100 also includes a main display 1108that is configured to render primary visual information generated by theprocessing unit 1170. The main display 1108 may include a liquid-crystaldisplay (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, organicelectroluminescent (OEL) display, or the like. If the main display 1108is an LCD, the display may also include a backlight component that canbe controlled to provide variable levels of display brightness. If themain display 1108 is an OLED or OEL type display, the brightness of themain display 1108 may be controlled by modifying the electrical signalsthat are provided to display elements.

The device 1100 also includes an auxiliary display 1106 that isconfigured to render secondary visual information generated by theprocessing unit 1170. The auxiliary display 1106 may include aliquid-crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED)display, organic electroluminescent (OEL) display, or the like. If theauxiliary display 1106 is an LCD, the display may also include abacklight component that can be controlled to provide variable levels ofdisplay brightness. If the auxiliary display 1106 is an OLED or OEL typedisplay, the brightness of the auxiliary display 1106 may be controlledby modifying the electrical signals that are provided to displayelements.

The device 1100 may also include a battery 1176 that is configured toprovide electrical power to the components of the device 1100. Thebattery 1176 may include one or more power storage cells that are linkedtogether to provide an internal supply of electrical power. The battery1176 may be operatively coupled to power management circuitry that isconfigured to provide appropriate voltage and power levels forindividual components or groups of components within the device 1100.The battery 1176, via power management circuitry, may be configured toreceive power from an external source, such as an AC power outlet. Thebattery 1176 may store received power so that the device 1100 mayoperate without connection to an external power source for an extendedperiod of time, which may range from several hours to several days.

In some embodiments, the device 1100 includes one or more input devices1178. The input device 1178 is a device that is configured to receiveuser input. The input device 1178 may include, for example, a pushbutton, a touch-activated button, or the like. In some embodiments, theinput device 1178 may provide a dedicated or primary function,including, for example, a power button, volume buttons, home buttons,scroll wheels, and camera buttons. Generally, keyboard keys, a touchsensor, and a force sensor may also be classified as input devices.However, for purposes of this illustrative example, the keyboard keys1118, touch sensor 1180 and force sensor 1182 are depicted as distinctcomponents within the device 1100.

The device 1100 may also include a touch sensor 1180 that is configuredto determine a location of a touch over a touch-sensitive surface of thedevice 1100. The touch sensor 1180 may include a capacitive array ofelectrodes or nodes that operate in accordance with a mutual-capacitanceor self-capacitance scheme. The touch sensor 1180 may be integrated withan auxiliary display to form a touch-sensitive display similar to theexample described above with respect to FIG. 2. The touch sensor 1180may also be integrated with another component that forms an externalsurface of the device 1100 to define a touch-sensitive surface.

The device 1100 may also include a force sensor 1182 that is configuredto receive force touch input over a touch-sensitive surface of thedevice 1100. The force sensor 1182 may include one or more layers thatare sensitive to strain or pressure applied to an external surface ofthe device. In accordance with the embodiments described herein, theforce sensor 1182 may be configured to operate using a dynamic oradjustable force threshold. The dynamic or adjustable force thresholdmay be implemented using the processing unit 1170 and/or circuitryassociated with or dedicated to the operation of the force sensor 1182.

The device 1100 may also include one or more sensors 1184 that may beused to detect an environmental condition, orientation, position, orsome other aspect of the device 1100. Example sensors 1184 that may beincluded in the device 1100 include, without limitation, one or moreaccelerometers, gyrometers, inclinometers, goniometers, ormagnetometers. The sensors 1184 may also include one or more proximitysensors, such as a magnetic hall-effect sensor, inductive sensor,capacitive sensor, continuity sensor, and the like. The proximitysensor(s) may be configured to detect the presence of a supportstructure or support surface and used to determine a supportconfiguration in accordance with some embodiments.

The sensors 1184 may also be broadly defined to include wirelesspositioning devices including, without limitation, global positioningsystem (GPS) circuitry, Wi-Fi circuitry, cellular communicationcircuitry, and the like. The device 1100 may also include one or moreoptical sensors including, without limitation, photodetectors,photosensors, image sensors, infrared sensors, and the like. While thecamera 1186 is depicted as a separate element in FIG. 11, a broaddefinition of sensors 1184 may also include the camera 1186 with orwithout an accompanying light source or flash. The sensors 1184 may alsoinclude one or more acoustic elements, such as a microphone used aloneor in combination with a speaker element. The sensors may also include atemperature sensor, barometer, pressure sensor, altimeter, moisturesensor or other similar environmental sensor.

The sensors 1184, either alone or in combination, may generally beconfigured to determine an orientation, position, and/or movement of thedevice 1100. The sensors 1184 may also be configured to determine one ormore environmental conditions, such as a temperature, air pressure,humidity, and so on.

The device 1100 may also include a camera 1186 that is configured tocapture a digital image or other optical data. The camera 1186 mayinclude a charge-coupled device, complementary metal oxide (CMOS)device, or other device configured to convert light into electricalsignals. The camera 1186 may also include one or more light sources,such as a strobe, flash, or other light-emitting device. The camera 1186may be generally categorized as a sensor for detecting opticalconditions and/or objects in the proximity of the device 1100. However,the camera 1186 may also be used to create photorealistic images thatmay be stored in an electronic format, such as JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, rawimage file, or other similar file types.

The device 1100 may also include a communication port 1188 that isconfigured to transmit and/or receive signals or electricalcommunication from an external or separate device. The communicationport 1188 may be configured to couple to an external device via a cable,adaptor, or other type of electrical connector. In some embodiments, thecommunication port 1188 may be used to couple the device 1100 to anaccessory, such as an external keyboard, a mouse, an external storagedrive, or other device configured to send and/or receive electricalsignals. The communication port 1188 may be configured to receiveidentifying information from an external accessory, which may be used todetermine a communication configuration.

The device 1100 may also include a haptic element 1190 that isconfigured to produce a haptic output to provide haptic feedback at asurface of the device 1100. In particular, the haptic element 1190 maybe configured to produce a haptic output to a surface of the auxiliarydisplay 1106. The haptic element 1190 may provide various types oftactile feedback, such as vibrating, tapping, changes in friction,temperature changes, etc. The haptic element 1190 may include a motor,such as a spinning motor with an eccentric weight, a solenoid motor, alinear actuator, or other similar mechanism that is configured toproduce a haptic output on an exterior surface of the device 1100. Thehaptic element 1190 may be implemented using a variety of techniques forproviding haptic output including, for example, electromechanical,electrostatic, piezoelectric, acoustic, electrostimulation, and similarsuitable techniques. The haptic element 1190 may be activated and/orcontrolled by the processing unit 1170. Haptic feedback may be inresponse to inputs from the touch sensor 1180, force sensor 1182, orother input devices 1178, or it may be initiated by software or othercontrols. In some cases, the haptic output produced by the hapticelement 1190 may be paired or coordinated with an audio output of aspeaker or other acoustic device.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example process 1200 for operating an auxiliarydisplay of a device. The process 1200 may be implemented on any of theexample devices discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-11. Thefollowing process 1200 may be used to render contextual information onan auxiliary display using, for example, the processing unit and otherhardware elements described with respect to FIG. 11 or other embodimentsdescribed herein. The process 1200 may be implemented asprocessor-executable instructions that are stored within the memory ofthe device.

In operation 1202, primary visual information is generated. The primaryvisual information may be rendered on a main display. In some examples,the primary visual information may include text or characters. The textor characters may be generated based on recent inputs to the device, ormay represent text or characters previously stored in system memory. Inother examples, the primary visual information may additionally oralternatively include a rich graphical user interface, such as anoperating system desktop, one or more application windows, and/or alocation indicator such as a cursor or a mouse pointer.

In operation 1204, secondary visual information is generated, which maybe rendered on an auxiliary display. In some examples, the secondaryinformation may be generated based at least in part on past inputs tothe device. In other examples, the secondary visual information may be asubset of the primary visual information, such as a portion of the textin the primary visual information. The secondary visual information mayinclude a visually scaled or simplified version of the rich graphicaluser interface in the primary visual information.

In operation 1206, input is received. The input may be generated by aset of keys, inputs to a trackpad, or inputs from one or more sensors.For example, a user may actuate one or more of the set of keys, whichaction may be represented by an alphanumeric character. In otherexamples, the input may be generated by a touch being detected on thesurface of an auxiliary display which includes a touch sensor. Thedetected touch may indicate the location of the touch and may correspondto an action to be executed by the device.

In operation 1206, the input may cause new primary visual information tobe rendered on the main display and new secondary information to berendered on the auxiliary display. For example, where input from one ormore keys is received, it may cause additional information, such as aset of characters, to be included in the primary visual information andthe secondary visual information, allowing a user to see the charactersthat have been typed on either display. Other inputs may cause stillother responses. For example, where a touch on the surface of theauxiliary display is registered by the touch sensor it may cause a wordcorresponding to that portion of the auxiliary display to be insertedinto the primary visual information and the secondary visualinformation. In some embodiments, in response to input from an inputdevice the primary visual information and secondary visual informationmay be updated to include additional information associated with theinput. The operations of process 1200 are merely illustrative in natureand are not intended to be limiting.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example process 1300 for suggesting a word to atyping user. The process 1300 may be implemented on any of the exampledevices discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-11. The followingprocess 1300 may be used to render suggested words on an auxiliarydisplay using, for example, the processing unit and other hardwareelements described with respect to FIG. 11 or other embodimentsdescribed herein. The process 1300 may be implemented asprocessor-executable instructions that are stored within the memory ofthe device.

In operation 1302, input is received from a key. The input may begenerated by a user pressing a key, wherein a corresponding electricalsignal is generated. The key may represent an alphanumeric character.

In operation 1303, an alphanumeric character corresponding to the inputis rendered on the main display. In some examples, the main display maypreviously consist of a rich graphical user interface such as anoperating desktop with an application window. The application window mayconsist of text, such as a document. When the input is received inoperation 1302, in operation 1303 the corresponding character may bevisually rendered within the document.

Similarly, in operation 1304 an alphanumeric character corresponding tothe input is rendered on the auxiliary display. Operation 1304 may beexecuted substantially concurrently with operation 1303, and thecharacters rendered on both the auxiliary display and the main displaymay be the same. In some examples, the auxiliary display may previouslyconsist of a simplified graphical interface with a series of charactersrepresenting the most recently received inputs. When the input isreceived in operation 1302, in operation 1304 the correspondingcharacter may be added to the series of characters in the auxiliarydisplay.

In operation 1306, a partial word is recognized by process 1300. Forexample, the character corresponding to the input received in operation1302 may be recognized as the beginning of a word. Where other inputshave previously been received, more than one consecutive character maybe recognized as the beginning of a word.

In operation 1308, a selectable item, which in this example may be asuggested word, is rendered on the auxiliary display. With therecognition of a partial word in operation 1306, process 1300 maygenerate one or more suggested words which are considered to be likelyto complete the partial word. In operation 1308 these suggested wordsare rendered on the auxiliary display in order to assist a user duringtyping.

In operation 1310, an input is received from a touch sensor. The touchsensor may be part of the auxiliary display, and may be operable todetect the presence and location of a touch on the surface of theauxiliary display. When operation 1308 has rendered a suggested word onthe auxiliary display, in operation 1310 a user may select the word bytouching a portion of the surface of the auxiliary display correspondingto the suggested word.

In operation 1311, a word is rendered on the main display. Whenoperation 1308 has rendered a suggested word on the auxiliary display,and in operation 1310 an input from a touch sensor has been receivedindicating the selection of the suggested word, in operation 1311 theword may be rendered on the main display. For example, where the maindisplay includes a rich graphical user interface such as an operatingdesktop with an application window (e.g., a document), the selected wordmay be inserted or substituted into an appropriate portion of thedocument and rendered on the main display.

Similarly, in operation 1312, a word is rendered on the auxiliarydisplay. Operation 1312 may be executed substantially concurrently withoperation 1311, and the word rendered on both the auxiliary display andthe main display may be the same. In some examples, the auxiliarydisplay may consist of a simplified graphical interface with a series ofcharacters representing the most recently received inputs. When theinput is received in operation 1310 corresponding to the selection of asuggested word rendered in operation 1308, the suggested word may beadded to the series of characters in the auxiliary display.

The operations of process 1300 may be executed in other contexts, asillustrated in examples in FIGS. 1-10C. The process 1300 may be extendedto situations with various information being rendered on the maindisplay and the auxiliary display. The operations of process 1300 aremerely illustrative in nature and not intended to be limiting.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specificembodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustrationand description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic computing device, comprising: anenclosure comprising: an upper portion; and a lower portion pivotallycoupled to the upper portion; a main display positioned within the upperportion; a set of keys positioned at least partially within the lowerportion; a trackpad positioned within the lower portion; an auxiliarydisplay positioned within the lower portion; and a processing unitoperably coupled to the main display and the auxiliary display, theprocessing unit being configured to cause a first graphical element tobe displayed on the main display and to cause a second graphical elementcomprising information to be displayed on the auxiliary display; whereinthe first graphical element comprises a series of characters and thesecond graphical element comprises a subset of the series of characters.2. The electronic computing device of claim 1, wherein: the firstgraphical element comprises text; and the second graphical elementcomprises a portion of the text in the first graphical element.
 3. Theelectronic computing device of claim 1, wherein: the processing unit isfurther configured to determine an area of interest within the firstgraphical element; and the second graphical element includes the subsetof the first graphical element that corresponds to the area of interest.4. The electronic computing device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliarydisplay further comprises a touch sensor configured to detect a locationof a touch on a surface of the auxiliary display.
 5. The electroniccomputing device of claim 4, wherein: the second graphical elementfurther comprises: a suggested word generated at least in part inresponse to the series of characters; and in response to the location ofthe touch corresponding to the suggested word, the processing unit isconfigured to cause an inserted word to be inserted into both the seriesof characters of the first graphical element and subset of series ofcharacters of the second graphical element.
 6. The electronic computingdevice of claim 4, wherein the auxiliary display further comprises aforce sensor configured to detect a force applied to the surface of theauxiliary display that exceeds a threshold.
 7. The electronic computingdevice of claim 6, wherein: the second graphical element furthercomprises: one or more suggested words generated at least in part inresponse to the series of characters; and in response to the detectedforce, the processing unit is configured to cause the second graphicalelement to further comprise a user-selectable item.
 8. The electroniccomputing device of claim 6, wherein the auxiliary display furthercomprises a haptic element configured to provide haptic feedback alongthe surface of the auxiliary display in response to the detected touchor the detected force.
 9. The electronic computing device of claim 1,wherein the second graphical element comprises a visually scaled versionof the first graphical element.
 10. A method for rendering contextualinformation on an auxiliary display, comprising: rendering primaryvisual information on a main display, the primary visual informationcomprising typed characters; rendering secondary visual information onthe auxiliary display positioned within a keyboard and operably coupledto the main display, the secondary visual information including a subsetof the typed characters; receiving input from an input device, the inputcomprising an additional portion of information; and in response to theinput from the input device, updating the primary visual information andthe secondary visual information to each include the additional portionof information, the additional portion of information being associatedwith the input.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: causingthe secondary visual information to include a user-selectable item;receiving additional input from a touch sensor in the auxiliary display,the touch sensor corresponding to the user-selectable item; and updatingthe primary visual information and the secondary visual information toinclude text or a graphical element corresponding to the user-selectableitem.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: causing a hapticelement to provide haptic feedback along a surface of the auxiliarydisplay in response to the receiving additional input from the touchsensor.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: receivingadditional input from a force sensor in the auxiliary display configuredto detect an amount of force applied to a surface of the auxiliarydisplay; in response to the receiving additional input from the forcesensor, causing the secondary visual information to include text or agraphical element representing optional actions; and executing theoptional actions in response to a touch on the auxiliary display. 14.The method of claim 10, wherein the secondary visual informationincludes one or more suggested words; and further comprising: receivingadditional input from a touch sensor in the auxiliary display configuredto detect a location of a touch on a surface of the auxiliary display;and in response to the receiving additional input from the touch sensor,substituting one of the one or more suggested words into the primaryvisual information and the secondary visual information.
 15. The methodof claim 10, wherein the primary visual information includes a graphicaluser interface and the secondary visual information includes asimplified portion of the graphical user interface.
 16. An electroniccomputing device, comprising: an upper portion, comprising: anenclosure; and a main display positioned at least partially within theenclosure; a lower portion, comprising: an upper surface; a set ofmechanical keys positioned within the upper surface; and an auxiliarydisplay positioned in the upper surface between the set of mechanicalkeys and the upper portion; and a processing unit configured to receiveinputs from the set of mechanical keys; wherein: based on the inputsfrom the set of mechanical keys, the processing unit causes primaryvisual information to be rendered on the main display; and based on theinputs from the set of mechanical keys, the processing unit causessecondary visual information to be rendered on the auxiliary display;wherein the primary visual information comprises the inputs from the setof mechanical keys, and the secondary visual information comprises themost recent inputs from the set of mechanical keys.
 17. The electroniccomputing device of claim 16, wherein the primary visual informationcomprises an application window and the secondary visual informationcomprises an area of interest within the application window.
 18. Theelectronic computing device of claim 17, further comprising a sensorconfigured to detect user activity, wherein the processing unit isfurther configured to determine the area of interest within the primaryvisual information based on detected user activity and cause thesecondary visual information to include the area of interest.
 19. Theelectronic computing device of claim 16, wherein: the primary visualinformation includes a user interface for a software application; thesecondary visual information includes a list of selectable items thatcorresponds to a user interface for the software application; and inresponse to a selection of an item of the list of selectable items, theprocessing unit executes an action corresponding to the item.
 20. Theelectronic computing device of claim 16, wherein the secondary visualinformation comprises a visually scaled version of the primary visualinformation.
 21. The electronic computing device of claim 16, whereinthe primary visual information includes a graphical element and thesecondary visual information includes a subset of the graphical elementof the primary visual information.